How to Cook Sea Weed

Nori is used to wrap sushi.

Seaweed is the general term for marine algae, which is mostly green, red and brown. Japan, China and Korea are the major consumers of seaweed, which has the highest plant source of calcium and is high in iodine. Nori seaweed is the dry flaky seaweed that is used to wrap sushi, while Kombu seaweed is usually rehydrated in soups. You can easily cook seaweed by cooking dry seaweed in broth mixed with other vegetables.

Things You'll Need

• Large saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces dry Kombu seaweed
• 1 heaping tablespoon red miso paste
• 14-ounce box of Silken Tofu, drained and cubed
• 2 green onions, chopped finely

Instructions

1. 

   Bring the chicken broth to a boil.

   Pour chicken broth in a large saucepan. Turn up heat to medium-high to bring to a boil.

2. 

   Turn down the burner and simmer for 10 minutes.

   Add dry Kombu seaweed to the boiling chicken broth. Turn down the heat to simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. 

   Stir occasionally.

   Add tofu and miso to the pot. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. 

   Serve while hot.

   Add the chopped green onions to the soup and stir. Serve while hot.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute chicken broth for fish stock and add noodles and vegetables to make this soup a main course.

• Kombu seaweed is also used in bean dishes to help break down the cellulose of the beans, making them more digestible.

References

• Seaweed Site From Michael Guiry: Home
• Institute for Traditional Medicine: The Nutrional and Medicinal Value of Seaweeds in Chinese Medicine
• Kitchen Table Medicine: How to Better Digest Beans

Resources

• "NY Times": Kombu and Bonito Dashi, October 2008